Know About - Ragi or Finger Millet (Nachni)

Ragi, also known as finger millet came to India in 2000 BCE. Ragi is nutritionally rich and has medicinal properties. In Ancient India Ragi was used as ayurvedic medicine for treating many health conditions. Ragi porridge is not only nutrient-dense but also prescribed as a superfood for many diseases.

Ragi was initially widely used by only the rural population. After research and studies by several reputed research institutes like CFTRI (Central food training research institute) and United nation food and agriculture organization), NIN (National Institute of nutrition) not only rural but urban population is also appreciating the health porridge benefit of Ragi and incorporating in their meal plan.

There are multiple health benefits of ragi and various ways of making Ragi Porridges. Ragi can be used to make both sweet or savory dishes. Ragi Malt Drink, Ragi Sangati Recipe, Ragi Mudde Recipe, Ragi Porridges, Ragi Flour Dosa, Ragi Puttu Recipe, Ragi Roti, Ragi Murruku etc.

Ragi can be given to any age group from pediatric to geriatric. Check Our Recipes Wean Mix (food for babies) and Porridge Mix (for adults)

Ragi Porridge Mix is introduced to infants as their first weaning food. It’s high in calcium, helps in developing bones, teeth, and building muscles. Iron content in Ragi improves blood circulation and the development of all the vital organs of babies. Ragi Porridge is highly recommended during the pregnancy and lactation phase also. Indian women are prone to anemia. According to several studies, 77% of pregnant women are anemic. Ragi helps in improving the iron level for babies and pregnancy women's. From a healthy pregnancy to safe motherhood Ragi is beneficial.

Breastfeeding leads to loss of calcium, ragi is prescribed for the replenishment of calcium for lactating women. Ragi has a low glycemic index, Regulates blood sugar, and maintains blood pressure too.

Minerals and good fat present in ragi improve heart health and cholesterol level. Dietary guideline recommend complex carbohydrates, high fiber, and moderate protein for weight loss. Ragi is the perfect blend of all these three components.

Vit C present in ragi helps in improving immunity. Vit E enhances your skin and hair.

The antioxidants present in ragi removes toxins and eradicate free radicals from the body. Free radicals are very harmful to the body and are one of the primary causes of the disease Alzheimer’s according to the study done by Dr. Neal Barnard.

Essential amino acids are necessary for the body as they help in recovering from major illnesses and healing wounds, Ragi contains many essential amino acids, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, and phenylalanine, not present in other grains.

Ragi Porridge Mix contains the highest amount of calcium. It helps in building teeth also improves gum health, keeps the mouth free from gum disease.

Studies show that the protein content in ragi supports bone development. The calcium present in ragi helps in the absorption of Vit D and improves overall health.

The Ragi Porridge Mix contains no artificial colorants or preservatives. High-quality Ragi Porridge is a healthy option for breakfast and dinner.

Try Organically Sourced Ragi Porridge Gluten-Free and Nutritionally Dense.

Article written by Nazneen Mallick, Chief Clinical Dietician.

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5 Steps before you use the grain, which improves digestion

How to process/use the grain? Do we need to do anything to make it suitable for consumption?

Cleaning

Plants based foods like seeds, roots, stem, leaves, flower requires compulsory cleaning. They are grown in open space and lot of dust and other particles stay on on the layers. Also, farmers may use biochemicals and fertilizers to protect the plants. There is a possibility of those elements stays on the outer layer of the food. Cleaning the outer layer with fresh water or warm water removes all these dust and then they are safe for consumption to some extent. How it has to be cleaned? Showing the food before the tap water does not clean anything, it wets the surface and does nothing. Fill water in a bowl or container then put the grains in that. Rinse thoroughly with hands. Repeat the process until the color of the water remains unchanged. If cleaning is not properly done, then the external particles get into our stomach. They are not easily digestible by the stomach and results in stomach pain or indigestion. Cleaning helps in avoiding an upset stomach as a very first step.

Soaking

Soaking place an important role in the food processing. Many grains are tough to breakdown or cooking. For example, certain varieties of rice, pulses requires soaking, that will help us to remove the top layer and makes grains little soft and enables faster cooking. On the other side, soaking separates anti-nutrients from grains. Soaked water contains anti nutrients and that should be thrown out, never use the soaked water for cooking. Always rinse again the soaked grains once and use fresh water for cooking. This is a special step helps the grain to get rid of anti-nutrients, and shortens the cooking time. The soaking time is different for each grain ranges from 2 to 12 hours based on grains.

Fermenting/Sprouting

Sprouting is a process of transformation from grain to live plant. After soaking, water should be drained and the wet grains are tied in a cloth allowed to stay as it for a day or two. Small buds called sprouts are grown over a period of time. Similar to Soaking, this process uses natural yeasts to convert anti-nutrients into vitamins/minerals in the grains.

Roasting

As the process is time-consuming and tedious to be done on a daily basis, it used to be done once in a while and they preserve and use that powder. Sprouted grains do not stay from a couple of days and not much longer. The same can be extended by roasting. Roasting the sprouted grains till golden brown color smells good and stays longer. While roasting, you can feel the aroma of the grain, which indicates the right time to stop roasting. Avoid storing hot roasted grains immediately, allow the roasted grains to get cool naturally and then store it for later use.

Styles of Cooking

After all these steps, it needs a final step to get consumable. We can ground it to powder and use it for baking. We steam, or pressure cook and make delicious recipe and consume the grains, as convenient

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Millet Vs Oats - Which is more beneficial to help you in losing weight?

Which is better Oats or Millet?

Oats and Millet - Overview

Oats and Millets are grains which have entered into modern lifestyle as healthy foods. Millets and Oats, both, are beneficial to one's health in their own way. While oats help in lowering cholesterol; Millets, taking Ragi for example, are beneficial for diabetics.

Nutrition

Oats have nearly 40% more protein than Proso Millet and Foxtail millet. Oats have more fibre than Barnyard millet and are richer in phosphorus and Thiamine than any of the millets. And both oats & millet have variable protein content.
Millets trump over oats in case of Calcium content (Ragi has close to 5.5 times calcium than Oats), and Pearl Millet (Bajra) has more than 3 times Iron content than Oats.

Preparation

Oats grain is not used much in a person's daily routine; we prefer rolled ones which are readily available in the market. As oats are in flakes format they are pretty easy to cook. Millets, predominantly available as grains and in value added forms (flakes, semolina), are gaining popularity nowadays. But recipes and awareness have not reached many people, so it remains unadopted in large quantities . But the simple fact is that most millets can be cooked like rice. Millets can replace rice in various dishes such as idli, dosa, payasam/kheer.

Cost

The cost of a Kg of Oats is about INR 105/- to 150/-. This is of the plain variety, and the costs vary based on the flavour and version of oats that are offered. Compare this to Millets, which cost anywhere between INR 30/- to 70/-. So the value for money is extremely good for Millets and affordable by many.

Conclusion

Oats and Millet, both are good source of fibre and contains complex carabohydrates by nature. This helps your satiety level and also energy will be retained for longer duration. In general, consuming of whole grains not only help in weight loss, but it also improves our basic nutrition in the form of vitamins and minerals. Oats is one grain and Milets have variety. Consuming various millet as a part of weekly diet not only helps in weight reduction, also boosts your immune system and improves nutrition.

Millet - Farmers friend

To add further, millets are wonderful crops, easy to grow during droughts, and cheap to procure. Millets are one of the oldest foods known to humans and, are also unique due to their short growing season. By eating millets, we will be encouraging farmers in dry land areas to grow crops that are best suited for those regions. Using more millets we really support our own farmers who are dependent on 50% of rain fed Indian agricultural landscape.⁠⁠⁠

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Amaranth - Not a grain, more than a that !!!

Amaranth is not a grain like quinoa or millet. It is a seed, but due to this seed's nutritional profile and its usage in casual cuisines, it is referred as a grain.

Amaranth is the common name for more than 60 different species of Amaranthus, which are usually very tall plants with broad green leaves and impressively bright purple, red, or gold flowers. They are commonly grown for their edible seeds. One plant can produce up to 60,000 seeds.

Amaranth has a long history and has been in use for many centuries by many different cultures. Amaranth was once a staple food in the diets of pre-Columbian Aztecs. It is grown and consumed as a leafy vegetable in many countries around the world. Amaranth is, easy to cook, highly palatable, and, can easily be included in snacks and dishes. Cooked amaranth is 90% digestible.

Amaranth contains more than three times the average amount of calcium and is also high in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.  It’s also the only grain documented to contain Vitamin C.

Amaranth is relatively rich in lysine. Most grains like wheat are short on lysine, an amino acid. This makes amaranth a complete protein because it contains all the essential amino acids. Amaranth is gluten free and good for your heart.  Amaranth has shown potential as a cholesterol-lowering whole grain in several studies conducted over the past 14 years.

Amaranth can be cooked and consumed as porridge, which is a great option for breakfast. In fact, amaranth porridge is a traditional breakfast in India, Peru, Mexico, and Nepal. Its is a famous leafy vegetable in South India.

Names in other languages - Rajgeera (Hindi), Rajgiri (Kannada, Konkani, Sanskrit), Mulaikeerai (Tamil), thotakoora (Telugu). The Hindi name for amaranth, rajgeera, means “the king’s grain.” Its other name, ramdana, means “God’s own grain.”

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